inlinehockeyfandomcom-20200214-history
National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association
The National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA), is the national governing body of collegiate inline hockey in the United States. In 2003, six member organizations parted from their former national governing body, the Collegiate Roller Hockey League (CRHL), and announced the creation of the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association. Its headquarters are located in Torrance, California, and it is currently under the leadership of executive director Brennan Edwards. The NCRHA is not affiliated with the governing body of most college athletics - the National Collegiate Athletic Association. History The origins of the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association can be traced back to the spring of 1994 when it was developed as an in-line program to the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association, a collegiate ice hockey league in California. While the league was small with only three teams, Cal Poly Pomona became the first league champion that year. The other two teams participating were University of Southern California and University of California at Los Angeles. Only a few months later the league grew in popularity and added two new schools, El Camino College and Moorpark College. But not only did the team selection get bigger, but so did the league itself. In the 1994-95 season, the PCHA renamed itself the Collegiate Inline Hockey Association, and became reorganized. After renaming the league, the CIHA would experience massive growth by adding two new schools, University of San Diego and University of California, Santa Barbara in the spring of 1995. By the fall of 1995, California Polytechnic State University, Ventura College, Pepperdine University, California State University, Fullerton, University of California, Irvine and University of Nevada, Las Vegas all joined the still young league. By the spring of 1996, even more teams were joining the league as Pierce College and Marymount College signed on to play. The league also decided to once again change its appearance and name and so from after the spring of 1996, the league would now be recognized as the National Collegiate Inline Hockey Association. Not only did the name change, but so did the season layout to a single, yearly championship that would not only encompass the West Coast, but the entire nation. The first national championships were held in Las Vegas, Nevada for the fall season of 1996. The tournament was held in unison with the National In-line Hockey Association. El Camino College defeated Purdue University 4-3 in a shootout to win the first NCIHA National Championships. In their first season of competition, Saddleback College won the 2nd NCIHA National Championships again held in Las Vegas, by defeating University of Nevada, Las Vegas 9-3. The event was hosted by USA Hockey InLine. In 1998, the 3rd NCIHA National Championships were held once again in Las Vegas for the third straight year. University of Missouri-St. Louis would defeat California Polytechnic State University 3-0 in the championship game. The 1998 event was hosted by Roller Hockey International-Amateur. Due to the expansion, the NCIHA had witnessed not only in the west coast but nation wide, the league decided to implement a different internal organization and so the Western Collegiate Inline Hockey League became a region of the newly formed Collegiate Roller Hockey League. The WCIHL and four other leagues nation wide would be separated to play in regional tournaments, but then meet up at the national level to determine which team would be the best in the United States. Teams would be broken into two divisions, Division I and Division III. In 1999, the CRHL National Championship Tournament I took place in Chicago, Illinois. Michigan State University would defeat University of California, Santa Barbara 5-4 in the Division I championship game on a goal scored by captain Mike Mackert. Grossmont College would earn the championship in Division III play. In 2000, CRHL National Championship Tournament II was played in Ellenton, Florida, a census-designated place south of Tampa. Michigan State University repeated as Division I champion defeating Colorado State University 5-4 in the championship on a goal scored with 3.9 seconds left by Ed Kruschka. St. Charles Community College defeated Elgin Community College 12-5 for the DIII championship. In 2001, the CRHL expanded with a Division II division. In 2003, the league came to the decision to add a Premier Division for its more well established clubs such as Lindenwood University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University and University of Michigan. The decision proved unsuccessful. On August 1, 2003, the Atlantic Collegiate Roller Hockey Association, Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association, Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League, Southwest Collegiate Hockey League, Southeast Collegiate Roller Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League parted from the national governing body, the CRHL, and announced the creation of the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association. By September 1, 2003, the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League and newly-formed Rocky Mountain Collegiate Roller Hockey Association had joined as Member Organizations of the NCRHA, bringing the total to eight. In March 2005, the ACRHA and the SCRHA merged to form a new organization the Southeastern Collegiate Roller Hockey League. Teams and regions The NCRHA is a collaboration of 202(2009-2010 season) collegiate inline hockey teams. These teams are divided into their respective regions where they compete for regional titles. Each region consists of Division I, Division II, Junior College, and B Division (junior varsity) teams who compete for the right to represent their region on the national stage each April. Currently there are seven member organizations that make up the NCRHA. *Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association *Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League (GPCIHL) *Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League (MCRHL) *Rocky Mountain Roller Hockey Association (RMCRHA) *Southeastern Collegiate Roller Hockey League (SECRHL) *Southwest Collegiate Hockey League (SCHL) *Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League (WCRHL) The NCRHA has taken a firm hold and boasts teams with memberships exceeding a decade and holds record of 2110 participants in the league. The games are held at any one of 88 facilities. Likewise, the league has developed to a point where colleges have established strong programs and powerhouses such as Lindenwood, UMSL, Neumann College, and the numerous teams out of Michigan and Florida. At the end of each season, the NCRHA announces bids to ranked teams for a final tournament to be held at a different location around the nation each year. The 2010 Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships were held April 7-11, 2010 at Silver Creek Sportsplex in San Jose, CA. For the 2008-2009 season, the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association introduced a nationwide team development program, which allowed teams that do not yet have the ability to compete on a higher level the opportunity to play competitive, intercollegiate roller hockey. These teams are classified as Division III teams. Games played by other NCRHA teams against these schools are officially counted as games played by the NCRHA, whereas in past years they may not have been. Past Champions Division I Division II Junior College Division B Division NCRHA Winterfest *2001-2004 - Event was held at NARCH Winternationals *2005 - Event was renamed NCRHA Winter Invitational *2007 - Event was renamed NCRHA Winterfest See also *List of NCRHA seasons *NCRHA - Goal Scoring Champion *NCRHA - Assist Champion *NCRHA - Scoring Champion *National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Program of the Year *National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Player of the Year *National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Coach of the Year *NCRHA Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships Most Valuable Player *NCRHA Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships Most Valuable Goaltender *NCRHA Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships Playmaker *NCRHA Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships All-Tournament Teams *NCRHA Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships All-Revision Team *IRC National Rankings External links *Official Site *Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association *Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League *Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League *Rocky Mountain Collegiate Roller Hockey Association *Southeastern Collegiate Roller Hockey League *Southwest Collegiate Hockey League *Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League *